Of clouded views and not losing perspective

With today’s post I’m not likely to win any popularity contests. If anything, just the opposite as what I am about to share may ruffle a few feathers even. Honestly, I would not be bringing up what I am about to bring up if I didn’t think it was worth the time and space to discuss. And, what, exactly, is this that I am alluding to?

It all has to do with perceived fuzzy, clouded views; perceived eyesores, visual blight, if you prefer. Below are two pointed examples.

First, try floating a proposal to build, for example, an electrified railroad and take note of what public reaction surfaces, what the sentiment is. Or, how about this: I remember a few years back when a local television station moved their operations to a new location and accompanying this move, a new multi-story T.V. antenna went up and I do mean “up.” If this didn’t bring out the opposition. By the scores, in fact, and then some.

Scads of letters appeared in the local newspaper, writers criticizing the tower’s presence.

Once the antenna was finally finished, the print-news-media-printed-angst subsided to the point that nary a word on the tower is now spoken. Imagine, the perception that a lofty T.V. tower was somehow going to spoil the view of the sky or the Sierra Nevada Mountains, or who knows what?! I mean, seriously?!

That these so-called “criticizers” are going to complain about something as innocuous as a television antenna, criticism of such, in hindsight, seems totally misplaced. My position is that what they should have been protesting and protest instead are all of the unsightly smokestacks and chimneys that regularly cough up some of the worst chemicals and other toxic debris known to hit the air; you know the kind, moreover, that hamper (diminish) views.

But, noooo! Instead these people who I’m sure deep down inside are really well-intentioned, those who would at first blush appear to have limited, myopic or tunnel vision, apparently have no problem whatsoever with the exhaust stacks of the ubiquitous vertical variety, and on top of that – and I do mean “on top” when I say “on top,” that air-tainting stuff that billows out of such, not only does that smoke sully views and by and large pollute the air, it can and in many instances does make people and animals sick in addition to resulting in lower crop yields.

Now, to talk of eyesores, if it’s eyesores you want to talk about, let’s talk about the sorest of sore sights for eyes. Smog! Yeah, that’s right, smog. You know what I’m talking about. Add to this, haze – also on account of pollution – so thick at times in some places, entire buildings, high-rise or otherwise, are out of sight – literally! And, we aren’t even talking over a distance of several miles. Try maybe 100 feet of separation or less, that is, in extreme cases. How can this not bother people?!

I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t. It does and the protest or revolt or two or three that has been sparked in response would prove that. So far, so good?

I know I have given the impression that what I am doing here is a lot of finger pointing. But, keeping it in perspective, as long as there’s going to be voiced criticism (which I trust there will be), making that which changes, destroys, limits, ruins views that at the same time alters, damages, harms the air we breathe and the environment we live in and, likewise, presents a threat to human, animal and crop health, the focus of that voiced complaining, in my “view,” is definitely where it’s at or, right where it needs to be, in other words.

That said, we can ill-afford to take our eyes off the ball as doing such will do absolutely nothing but cloud the big-picture view of what will be required to get and keep our air clean. I don’t know about you, but I’m having none of that.